End paper containing lanolin and polyoxyethylene sorbitol lanolin derivative



United States Patent END PAPER CONTAINING LANOLIN AND POLYOXYETHYLENE SORBITOL LANOLIN DERIVATIVE Donald{ H. Powers, Darien, Conn., assignor to Richard Hudnut, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York No Drawing. Application March 14, 1955 Serial No. 494,273

2 Claims. (Cl. 132--43) This invention relates generally to permanent waving of human hair, and more particularly to the so-called cold wave process.

in the so-called cold wave process, a solution of a reduc ing agent is applied to the hair. The reducing agent is effective at room temperatures to disrupt the disulfide linkages of the hair proteins and thus permit the hair to assume a different configuration than that normally pres ent. After the hair is set in the desired configuration, the hair is treated with a so-called neutralizer which reconstitutes the keratin bonds of the hair in the desired configuration. One problem inherent in the cold wave process is lack of uniform concentration of the reducing or softening agent on the hair, thereby resulting in a different degree of wave in various parts of the hair. To overcome this lack of uniformity in concentration of reducing agent, it has been proposed to saturate so-called end-papers with the reducing agent and the curls then wound around the end-paper. The end-paper saturated With reducing agent in contact with the hair thus provides a higher concentration of reducing agent in the center of the curl where the end of the hair is wound.

Alkaline thioglycolates, for example, while effective reducing agents, have the disadvantage of damaging the hair, particularly if the concentration and alkalinity of the agent are not carefully controlled. It has been found that the hair ends, where cut off or broken off, are particularly sensitive to reducing agents because the center of the hair at the end is not protected by the tough outer sheath or epicuticle. With the use of end-papers saturated with thioglycolate waving agents, the problem of hair damage, particularly at the hair ends, is aggravated because the saturated end paper is in closest contact with the hair end. The hair ends are therefore subjected to a relatively high concentration of thioglycolate.

It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to wave human hair employing end-papers saturated with a reducing agent, while avoiding damage to the hair ends.

The present invention generally comprises an endpaper for the permanent waving of hair by the cold wave method, for example, with an alkaline thioglycolate reducing agent, the end-paper containing a dispersed form of lanolin to protect the hair ends in immediate contact with the reducing agent. The invention further includes the method of waving human hair employing such endpapers.

The lanolin in the saturated end-paper will be adsorbed by the hair to render it softer, more lustrous and less damaged by the reducing solution. Lanolin, being hydrophobic in nature, additionally protects the hair ends against damage by the aqueous reducing lotion. Thus the present invention provides a method of getting lanolin onto the hair ends to prevent overwaving thereof, and thereby decreasing hair damage, while permitting the shaft of the hair to be fully and completely softened by the reducing agent. in water. One means of permitting lanolin to be dispersed in water while maintaining its protective ability Lanolin is very difficult to disperse ice with respect to the hair ends is to compound it with a chemically modified lanolin which is more soluble in water. Lanolin condensed with ethylene oxide and a hexahydric alcohol such as sorbitol or mannitol is much more dispersible in water than lanolin itself. Accordingly, a mixture of lanolin and a reaction product of lanolin with ethylene oxide and a hexahydric alcohol is preferred in the present invention.

The end papers employed in the present invention are highly absorbent papers which have high wet strength. The high wet strength paper is preferably a high purity cellulose paper containing a Wet strength resin, such as melamine or urea-formaldehyde resin.

The following examples illustrate the practice of the present invention:

Example I High wet strength paper was immersed in an aqueous suspension containing 5% by weight of lanolin and 3% by weight of the reaction product of ethylene oxide and lanolin with sorbitol and saturated therewith. The paper was squeezed to remove excess solution and dried. The resulting dried paper was found to contain up to 5% of lanolin and the lanolin-ethylene oxide-sorbitol reaction product.

Example II (reducing lotion) 5.5% Sodium ammonium thioglycolate (approximately equal moles of sodium and ammonium thioglycolate) pH, 9.2

Example III Aqueous solution of: Percent Sodium perborate S Boric acid 1.6 Tartaric acid 3.3 Carbowax 6000. 0.3

Hair on the human head was combed with a reducing agent thereon into strands and end-papers of Example I folded transversely across the ends of the strands of hair, and the hair wound thereabout. After the hair was entirely wound up in this manner and the curls fastened in place by means of clips, the wound hair was then resaturated with reducing agent and allowed to stand for at least 10 minutes to permit proper softening of the hair. Thereafter, the wound hair was neutralized wtih oxidizing agent of Example III to harden the hair and stop the reduction. The curls were saturated twice more with the oxidizing solution of Example III and the hair blotted. The curls were then loosened and the hair rinsed with water and thereafter permitted to dry.

As the hair is unwound from the curlers, it remains in a tight, firm curl which, with thorough brushing, gives a soft, wavy hair configuration having the character of naturally curly hair. The hair was completely free of broken ends and frizzy tips caused by overwaving and overprocessing of hair ends in the center of the curl. The damage to the ends of the hair was reduced, and the hair was free from snarls characteristic of broken ends.

It has been found that paper picks up about one to two times its own weight of the lanolin dispersion. Papers containing about /2 to 5% by weight of lanolin and its derivatives are effective in providing a uniform wave while avoiding damage to the the hair ends. Paper impregnated with about 2% lanolin by weight is preferred.

While the invention has been described in terms of certain examples, such examples are to be interpreted as illustrative rather than limiting.

I claim:

1. End-paper for the permanent waving of human hair comprising paper impregnated with about 0.5% to about 5% by weight of a lanolin-containing composition, said composition comprising 5 parts by weight of lanolin and UNITED STATES PATENTS 4 Mace Aug. 16, 1949 Russell May 5, 1953 Brown Sept. 14, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS France Jan. 11, 1927 OTHER REFERENCES Martin: Modern Beauty Shop, October 1949, pp. 70,

1,513,918 -McQuillan Nov. 4, 1924 2,309,722 Wilkes Feb. 2, 1943 2,478,820 Grifiin Aug. 9, 1949 19 71, 132 and 133. 

1. END-PAPER FOR THE PERMANENT WAVING OF HUMAN HAIR COMPRISING PAPER IMPREGNATED WITH ABOUT 0.5% TO ABOUT 5% BY WEIGHT OF A LANOLIN-CONTAINING COMPOSITION, SAID COMPOSITION COMPRISING 5 PARTS BY WEIGHT OF LANOLIN AND 3 PARTS BY WEIGHT OF A CONDENSATION PRODUCT OF LANOLIN, ETHYLENE OXIDE AND SORBITOL. 